Chapter 14
Rylan’s POV
The blade catches the light as Ronan lunges toward Selena, his face contorted in murderous rage. Time slows. My body moves before my mind can process, instinct takes over.
I intercept him mid-air, my hand clamping around his wrist with crushing force.
The silver blade clatters to the stone floor as bones snap beneath my grip.
In the same fluid motion, I slam him to the ground, driving him into the ancient stone with enough force that the floor cracks beneath his body.
The impact echoes through the chamber like thunder. Dust rises from fractured stone. My hand closes around his throat, pinning him as he gasps for breath.
KILL HIM. TEAR OUT HIS THROAT.
My wolf surges with homicidal fury, claws extending, fangs pressing against my gums. The beast inside me demands blood, demands retribution for what this snake tried to do to our mate.
I could end him right now. It would be so easy. Just a flick of my wrist, a tightening of my fingers. No one would question it, he attacked with murderous intent in front of the entire council.
But I look up and catch Selena’s eyes. Despite everything, there’s compassion. Not for him, but for me, for what killing my little brother would do to me. For his blood would be on my hands.
For her and me, I rein in the beast.
“You’re not worth it,” I growl, voice barely human as I lean close enough that only he can hear my next. “But if you ever look in her direction again, I will peel the skin from your body while you watch.”
I rise to my feet, dragging him up by his throat before shoving him toward the council guards. He stumbles, coughing, clutching his shattered wrist to his chest.
“The accused has attempted murder in front of this council,” Elder Miriam announces, her voice carrying through the stunned silence. “This act, combined with the evidence presented, leaves no room for leniency.”
Elder Darius steps forward, his expression grave. “Ronan, son of Marcus, you are hereby stripped of your rank as Alpha heir. The power bestowed upon you by birthright is revoked.”
The chamber fills with gasps. Stripping Alpha power is rare, sacred power isn’t easily taken.
But as Elder Darius places his hand on Ronan’s forehead, the magic builds in the air, thick and oppressive.
Ronan screams, a sound more animal than human, as golden light forcibly extracts from his body, coalescing above him before dissipating into nothingness.
When it’s done, he collapses to his knees, diminished. Ordinary. His eyes no longer carry that Alpha glow, his presence no longer commanding. He’s just an omega wolf now, a disgraced one, and something he always looked down on.
“And Candice,” Elder Miriam continues, turning her attention to the trembling female. “For your part in these crimes, you are sentenced to exile. You will leave these territories by nightfall and never return.”
Candice’s face contorts with rage and desperation. “You’re making a mistake,” she spits, looking around wildly. “The rogues are already coming! They’re already at our borders! We made deals to keep them at bay, but without us, they’ll destroy everything!”
The council exchanges glances, weighing her words. “Your warnings change nothing,” Elder Darius states firmly. “Your crimes remain. Guards, escort them out.”
As the warriors drag them away, Candice’s voice rises to a shriek: “You’ll see! You’ll all see! They’re coming, and your precious Lycan bitch won’t save you!”
The chamber door slams behind them, leaving a charged silence in their wake. I move to Selena’s side, my hand finding the small of her back, a gesture of support, of protection.
“The pack cannot stand without leadership,” Elder Miriam announces, addressing the assembly. “With the Alpha heir deposed and there is only one successor left of Alpha blood.”
All eyes turn to me. The expectation in the air is palpable, heavy with history, with what was taken from me, with what I walked away from.
“Rylan,” Elder Darius says, his voice carrying through the chamber. “You were once Alpha heir; it was a mistake to remove you. Please accept our humble apologies. Will you now step forward to lead this pack?”
The murmurs grow, voices rising in agreement, in plea. “Rylan!” someone calls from the back. Then another voice joins, and another, until my name echoes through the chamber like a chant, like a prayer.
I feel Selena stiffen beside me, uncertainty flowing through our strengthening bond. She thinks I might refuse, that after everything, I’d walk away again. She doesn’t understand yet what I’d do for her, what I’d become for her.
I step forward, drawing her with me, my arm around her waist. The chamber quiets.
“I’ll accept the position,” I state, my voice clear and firm. The wolves begin to cheer, but I raise my hand for silence. “But understand this, I do not take this mantle for power or position. I take it to protect what’s mine.”
My gaze sweeps the assembly, meeting eyes directly, establishing dominance without aggression.
“Selena, will you stand beside me, never beneath me. She is my equal, my partner, the only Luna I will ever acknowledge.” My voice drops lower, harder. “She is my second chance mate, she is mine, and anyone who disrespects her answers to me. This is not a request. This is law.”
The silence that follows is absolute. I can feel the weight of my words settling over the pack, the shift in their perception, not just of me, but of her. Of us.
Elder Miriam steps forward, offering the ceremonial Alpha heir medallion. As I take it, the weight of it familiar in my palm, I turn to Selena.
“Will you accept this path?” I ask her, my voice softening just for her. “To stand with me, to lead with me?”
Her eyes meet mine, clear and certain. “I do.”
The words ring with finality, with promise. I place the medallion around my neck, feeling the surge of pack magic flowing into me, through me, acknowledging me as Alpha heir once more. The pack erupts in cheers, wolves dropping to one knee in traditional submission to new leadership.
The ceremony concludes swiftly after that. The council retreats to discuss Candice’s warning about rogues, warriors are dispatched to strengthen borders, and the pack disperses with a new energy, hopeful but watchful.
I guide Selena through the crowd, acknowledging nods and congratulations with stoic grace, but my focus remains singular: getting her alone. The bond between us pulses, demanding we claim each other.
By the time we reach my quarters, our quarters now, the tension between us is nearly unbearable. The door closes behind us with a heavy thud, and suddenly we’re alone, the sounds of the pack celebration muffled by thick stone walls.
I watch her move into the center of the room, her steps measured, contained. She’s holding back, uncertain still of what this means, of where we stand. The bond flares between us, no longer a whisper but a shout, demanding acknowledgment.
“Selena,” I say, her name a prayer on my lips.
She turns to me, her eyes flashing silver in the dim light. “Alpha heir,” she replies, testing the word.
I close the distance between us in three strides, my hands coming up to frame her face. “No,” I murmur, my thumbs tracing her cheekbones. “Not to you. Never just that to you.”
Her breath catches. “Rylan, then.”
“Better.” I lean closer, our foreheads nearly touching. “But there’s something else I want to hear from your lips.”
Her pulse jumps beneath my fingers. “What?”
“Mate,” I breathe against her lips. “My mate. My equal. My everything.”
The bond surges at the word, and I can no longer hold back the truth I’ve been carrying.
“I’ve loved you since our first life,” I confess.
“Not because of fate. Because you were kind when you had every reason not to be. Because you were strong when the world tried to break you.”
I hold her gaze. “I love you. With everything I am.”
Her eyes widen, silver giving way to that unique silver that haunts my dreams. “I love you, too.”
I capture her mouth with mine, no longer gentle. The kiss is primal, claiming, my tongue seeking entrance which she grants with a soft moan.
My hands slide down her body, memorizing every curve, every shiver. Her breath hitches as I graze the underside of her breasts, thumbs circling her hardened nipples through the fabric of her dress. I can feel her heart pounding, her body heating with the same inferno raging within me.
“Mine,” I growl against her neck, my voice deeper, rougher than human. The wolf inside me claws to the surface, demanding to mark her, claim her, make her irrevocably ours. I can scent her arousal, a sweet aroma, a perfume that drives me wild.
I back her toward the bed, never breaking contact.
Our breaths mingle, hers coming in short gasps as my hands grip her hips, grinding her against the hard length of me.
“I need to mark you,” I rasp, my breath hot against her ear.
“Need everyone to know you’re mine.” Her body melts against me, surrendering to my dominance.
Her pulse quickens beneath my lips as I trail kisses down her throat, one hand cupping her breast, the other slipping beneath her skirt to tease her wet core. She cries out, bucking against my touch. “Yes,” she whispers, tilting her head to expose more of her neck, an offering, a surrender.
I lift her effortlessly, laying her across the furs covering my bed.
Our bed. My hands make quick work of her clothing, revealing skin I’ve hungered to touch for too long.
She reaches for me, but I catch her wrists, pinning them above her head with one hand.
With the other, I trace the curve of her breast, leaning down to capture one taut peak in my mouth, sucking hard before releasing it with a pop.
“Not yet,” I command, voice thick with desire.
“Let me worship you first.” I dip my head lower, inhaling her scent deeply as I hook her leg over my shoulder, opening her to me.
My tongue finds her hot center, lapping at her clit, savoring each gasp, each arch of her spine.
Her taste is intoxicating, addictive. I feast on her, growling low in my chest as she writhes beneath me, begging for release.
My teeth graze her inner thigh, leaving marks that will fade too quickly for my liking.
But the true mark, that will last forever.
When she’s trembling beneath me, skin flushed and eyes glowing silver with need, I rise above her, positioning myself at her entrance.
Our bodies align perfectly, as if made for each other.
“You’re mine,” I growl, my canines lengthening as the wolf rises closer to the surface. I thrust into her, hard and deep, her wet heat enveloping me. “Say it.”
“Yours,” she gasps, her nails digging into my shoulders, her legs wrapping around my waist, urging me deeper. “Always yours.”
I pound into her, each thrust claiming her more thoroughly than the last. Her moans fill the room, a symphony of submission that spurs me on. I can feel her tightening around me, her body coiling with impending release.
I sink my teeth into the junction where her neck meets her shoulder, breaking skin.
The taste of her blood ignites something ancient, something changes within me, as the mating bond flares to life between us, binding us eternally.
Her scream of pleasure-pain mingles with my possessive growl as our bodies and souls become one.
The bond snaps into place, and every wolf in the territory feels it. She is mine. And I am hers.